The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1887-11-02
A Dishonest Land Policy.

The administration has a great deal to
say about the great reform ii is accom-
plishing in the restoration of public lands
that have been fofeited by corporation
greed or individual dishonesty. With q
great flourish of trumpets the Commits
sioner of the Land Office has pretended to
have restored to the public domain mill
lions upon millions OF acres of land that
had been retained dishonesty under Re-
publican administrations. Following his
lead all the Democratic papers have caught
up the cry and proclaim that the browning
glory of the administration is it's land
policy. 1t is net surprising therefore
that Democratic conventions have been
led into gross and ridiculous errors by
such misstatements. The Pennsylvania
Democratic Convention declared that over
two hundred million acres of the public
domain had been rescued and returned to
the people by the present administration.
There is no foundation whatever in the
facts to sustain such remarkable assump-
tons. Indeed the very reports of
the General Land Office for the
last two years fail to show that
the public domain has been increased for
the actual settlers by the return of thou
sand acres of land that was not in the di-
rect line of the policy adopted by the last
Republican Secretary of the Interior and
his predecessors. All that has been done
in the way of retaining forfeited land
grants was continuation of the Repub-
| lican policy which the present adminstra-
| ton found in practice when 1t went into
Office. 1t has originated no policy in this
| respect and secured to the public domain
no land which would not have been Sc
cured had there been no change of admin
! istration and had the same policy of Re-
| Ynblicor officialc haay, rnaipfoinad Co oil
this great excitement and blow about the
rescue of millions of acres of land is dis
honest from the beginning. The admin
| istration deserves no credit other than for
| having carried out the line of public policy
marked out by its Republican predecessors.
On the contrary, it does deserve criticism
and censure for It's failure TO do what the
increased needs OF the public service i'm
peratively require and what it has repeat
edly promised it would do. There have
been organized in the past three years cat
tie companies that have usurped the public
| domain and are now illegally occupying
large portions OF it, unhindered by the
General Government. There was at one
time buster of protest and a brief dis
play OF authority, whose effect was but
| temporary, and the cattle barons were al
lowed their own way, and have continued
their illegal practices. If the admnistia-
ton was honest in its professions of re-
form, 1t would long ago have brought
these violators of law to justice and would
have saved TO the public thousands Of
acres illegally usurped and occupied by in
vaders. So that, in the line of promises
unfulflled and duties unperformed, the add
ministration is 10 be censured and con-
demned. But it is not alone by its mega
tive policy that it merits public condemna-
ton. Acting through the Commissioner
of the Land Office, man totally untitled
for the position, il has gone ahead with a
reckless disregard of public precedents and
| individual rights and deprived over five
thousand actual settlers of their farms in the
| Northwestern States and Territories. With
the reckless and vicious assumption that
every settler was to be regarded as thief
until he could establish his innocence, the
administration has assailed the integrity of
thousands of homes, disturbed the financial
relations of the Northwest. and wrought
great mischief and hardship to innocent
men and women. Standing upon techni-
calities that have no effect in equity, it has
not only imposed unusual and unnecessary
burdens upon settlers in order to compel
them to establish their claims, but it has
also robbed many of them Of the little
homes upon which they had expended
their hard labor for several years. The
Government could not have pursued pol
icy more hostile to the Interests of honest
and deserving men, had it started out with
that purpose. The record of five thousand
actual settlers-not grasping corporations,
not rich and law defying syndicatss. but
actual settlers, men and women who had
in good faith, trusting TO the good faith of
the Government, taken up these lands for
homes for themselves and their families
the record, we say, of five thousand honest
men and women driven from their homes
by the Government is not one for pride
and congratulation, but for shame and dis
grace. The whole policy of the Land De-
partment, in so far as it has any distinct
aud original policy of its own, is one to be
condemned as dishonest in its purposes
and vicious and disastrous to the public
good in its results.--IoCd State Register.